Archives for September 2012

The B1G almost bounced back from their dismal week two until Michigan State got embarrassed at home, on national television versus Notre Dame. The loss dropped Michigan State from number one all the way to number six in the weekly B1G Power Rankings. The conference has to take what it can get though at this point with some of the worst out of conference play in conference history recently.

1. Ohio State (3-0)- The Buckeyes squeaked out a win at the ‘Shoe versus Cal over the weekend, but as they say “a win is a win.” Kenny Guiton should see the field a lot versus UAB this weekend before heading to East Lansing in two weeks for a B1G showdown.
2. Northwestern (3-0)- The Wildcats defeated Boston College last weekend and their schedule gets even easier with back to back games against South Dakota and Indiana. They seem to be a product of an easy schedule but you cannot overlook their win over SEC wildcard Vanderbilt.
3. Michigan (2-1)- As expected, TTUN got to pad Denard Robinson’s stats against lowly UMASS but they travel to South Bend this weekend for a huge match-up. Notre Dame is coming off a surprising win at Michigan State and looks to extend their dominance over the B1G this season.
4. Nebraska (2-1)- After a slip up against a surprisingly good UCLA squad, Nebraska got back to running the football effectively versus Arkansas St. They welcome Idaho State into Lincoln before the Badgers come into town.
5. Purdue (2-1)- These next two rankings were based on their play versus one common opponent, Notre Dame. Purdue had the lead in the final minutes at South Bend before the Irish kicked a game winning field goal.
6. Michigan St (2-1)- On the other hand, Notre Dame went into Spartyville and controlled the game from start to finish, defeating MSU 20-3 on national television. Look for Coach D’Antonio to stick with his running game and for his defense to bounce back this week versus Eastern Michigan before Braxton Miller and crew come into town.
7. Wisconsin (2-1)- Once again, the Badgers looked unimpressive and could honestly be 0-3 at this point. To make matters worse, there could be a quarterback controversy on the horizon with Danny O’Brien being benched in favor for freshman Joel Stave. That is definitely something to keep an eye on before their conference schedule begins.
8. Penn St. (1-2)-  Coming off a resounding win over Navy, the Nittany Lions finally got their first win. They should take care of Temple and Illinois the next two weeks.
9. Iowa (2-1)- The Hawkeyes are another team that has not really played anyone yet and that continues this week against a Central Michigan team that is down this year.
10. Minnesota (3-0)- Sorry Gopher fans (if there are any,) but I don’t think I am the only one that does not buy your undefeated record. Look for Syracuse and their third ranked passing offense to throw the ball all over TCF Bank Stadium this weekend.
11. Illinois (2-1)- I still cannot get over that 31 point loss to ASU two weeks ago and do not be surprised if high scoring Louisiana Tech upsets the Illini this weekend.
12. Indiana (2-1)- In their first game without QB Tre Roberson, the Hoosiers lost to Ball St. They have two weeks to prepare for Northwestern so they should be able to put together a decent game plan.

It wasn’t a very successful week for many of these recruits teams but some of the players had ginormous games….

Jalin Marshall– His team Middletown Middies enjoyed a 41-26 win over Fairfield. Jalin rushed 10 times for 91 yards and scored two touchdowns. Also went 7-of-15 through air for 40 yards and a touchdown.
Eli Woodard– His team Eastern suffered a 39-13 loss to Timber Creek. Eli did allow one receiving TD.
Cam Burrows– His team Trotwood-Madison beat Kettering Fairmont 52-6. Cam was part of a total defensive effort.
Joey Bosa– His team St. Thomas Aquinas suffered a 20-10 loss to Don Bosco Prep. Joey had 6 tackles in the loss.
Marcus Baugh– His team John W North suffered a 38-7 loss to Citrus Hill. Marcus didnt score in the game coming off an injury.
Evan Lisle– His team Centerville enjoyed a 28-19 win over Lebanon. As an O-lineman he helped his team rush for 345 yards and pass for 242 yards.
Ezekiel Elliott– His team John Burroughs HS enjoyed a 56-14 win over St. Louis Lutheran North. He rushed 11 times for 224 yards scoring on runs of 7, 29, 56 and 62 yards and returned a punt for a score as well.
Billy Price– His team Austintown Fitch beat Barberton 45-0. Billy had a sack and helped keep Barberton scoreless.
Jayme Thompson– His team Toledo Central Catholic won 56-19 over Oregon Clay. He helped his team with a strong defensive effort.
J T Barrett- His team Rider beat Amarillo 26-17. JT was 15-of-27 for 206 yards with a touchdown and added 119 yards rushing on 22 carries.
Michael Hill– His team Pendleton lost 35-28 to Chesnee in double OT. Pendleton is having major issues on defense.
Taivon Jacobs– His team Suitland enjoyed a 41-0 win over Parkdale. Taivon made three catches for 75 yards with a touchdown and ran three times for 47 yards.
Darron Lee– His team New Albany had a 55-33 win over Olentangy Orange. He 3 for 6 passing for 93 yards with two touchdowns and ran 9 times for 136 yards with 4 TDs.
Tracy Sprinkle– His team Elyria enjoyed a 41-14 win over Strongsville. Tracy had another great game with 6 tackles and 3 for a loss and 4 QB hurries in the win.
Tim Gardner– His team Lawrence Central defeated Columbus North 42-0. Tim helped block for 2 RBs one who had 225 yards rushing and the other 113 yards rushing.
Johnny Townsend– His team Boone won 44-26 over Winter Park. No punting stats could be found.

Ohio State fans continue to see what Urban Meyer and his staff sees in players like Ezekiel Elliott and JT Barrett and Jalin Marshall those guys are absolute freaks of nature. Taivon Jacobs and Marcus Baugh are quickly proving they belong in the same breath. On defense the surprise of the class continues to be Tracy Sprinkle. I finally got to see Joey Bosa play and I was shocked how big and fast and strong he is. He could easily play as a freshman. This class is full of stars that is evident and just proves OSU is set for the next 5 years with talented people.

The Buckeyes passed their final test by defeating California 35-28 before they head to East Lansing in two weeks (sorry UAB.)

But, they have failed to put together a full, 60 minute effort that would leave fans confident after a game. Urban and his staff have a lot to work on the next two weeks before the B1G slate begins.

After a Braxton Miller to Jake Stoneburner touchdown with 13:30 left in the second quarter that gave the Buckeyes a 20-7 lead, the offense did not score again until the 8:31 mark in the fourth quarter. It should not take seven drives to score against a Cal defense that does not have B1G type talent on that side of the ball.

There were some positives though; Miller had his first real taste of adversity and led the offense to game leading and game winning drives. After a Zach Maynard touchdown with 12:26 left in the fourth quarter, Miller orchestrated an 11 play, 75 yard drive that took four minutes off the clock which was probably the drive of the year so far. The drive concluded with a three yard, Tim Tebow-like jump pass to Stoneburner, who caught his second touchdown of the day.

Following a Brendan Bigelow 59 yard touchdown run to tie the game only 21 seconds later. Miller then found a wide-open Devin Smith for 72 yards and the game winning touchdown. It was very good to see Miller face adversity before the conference schedule begins and succeed.

What the Buckeyes need to work on:

• Missed tackles. This has been the biggest issue for the silver bullets this year and it has led to big plays by the opposition. This defense is lacking a sure tackler at linebacker and this is something that we as Buckeye fans are not used to.
• Bigelow, Cal’s backup running back who had 2 carries the first two games, had FOUR carries for 160 yards and TWO touchdowns. No, that was not a typo. Bigelow’s magical 81 yard touchdown run included a missed tackle in the backfield by Nathan Williams then Doran Grant four yards past the line of scrimmage, then Ryan Shazier missed on the sideline. This is unacceptable. His 60 yard touchdown later in the game also was a result of sloppy tackling, with Etienne Sabino and Orhian Johnson missing easy tackles.
• As I said in my preview, they had to watch Chris Harper (number #6) in the screen game. On third and three in the first quarter, he took a screen pass 19 yards for a touchdown. CJ Barnett lined up about seven yards off of the line of scrimmage and Harper went untouched for the score to put Cal up 7-6. One would think that on third and short Luke Fickell would call for press coverage and that should get cleaned up this week.
•  Braxton Miller needs to take more shots downfield, his receivers are proving themselves every week, why not keep the defense on their heels and keep them honest?
• When Cal went down 20-7, that was OSU’s chance to put them away for good. Instead, the offense took their foot off the gas; the defense got lazy with their tackling and started taking stupid penalties. What could have been a blowout, turned into a major scare at the ‘Shoe.
• Sandwiched between Miller’s two touchdowns in the fourth quarter that won the game for the Buckeyes, he threw an awful interception that could have cost them the game. It was 3^rd&7 for the Buckeyes after Bigelow’s game tying touchdown and Miller took way too long on Evan Spencer’s banana route. Spencer had the corner beat a few seconds before Miller vastly under threw the ball. There was still 7:17 left on the clock in a tie game, Miller had good protection and could have either thrown the ball away, checked down to another receiver, or tried to run for the first down. Instead, he gave Cal the ball back with good field position and all of the momentum.

O. Johnson’s missed tackle

What looked good for the Buckeyes:

• It was nice to see Miller not take as many hits as he did the first two games. Miller rushed the ball 12 times and he also ducked out of bounds a few times. The fewer amount of times he gets hit, the better it will be in the long run. Or, he can just break a defender’s ankles and go untouched for a 55 yard touchdown run.
• Jordan Hall had a solid game for his first game back. He carried the ball 17 times for 87 yards and did not have any negative rushes. Once Carlos Hyde comes back, they’ll have both an inside and outside rushing threat at running back.
• Both Philly Brown and Devin Smith are playmakers. Philly Brown plays more of the Percy Harvin role, as he lines up in the backfield, motions in and out and can basically play more than just receiver for the offense. Devin Smith on the other hand, can go up and catch the ball in traffic and is more of a prototypical, solid wide receiver. Smith ran a simple go route and Miller hit him with a great back shoulder ball that Smith made the adjustment to for a 25 yard touchdown in the first quarter. He has great field awareness and can go up and get the ball over many defensive backs.
• Coming into the game, the pass rush was non- existent with only three sacks total in the first two games. They doubled that number with six sacks versus Zach Maynard. Fickell drew up some excellent blitzes, including Bradley Roby’s 11 yard sack in which he exploded off the edge and basically went untouched for the sack. Sabino followed up Roby’s sack with one of his own later on in the drive to force a punt.
• Bradley Roby did an excellent job in coverage and in run support all game, he really has stepped up this year and is arguably the best defender on the team. Keenan Allen finished with 9 catches for 80 yards, but Roby contained him and did not give him anything after the catch. When the opposition runs sweeps to Roby’s side, he constantly blows the play up by either making the tackle or taking on the lead blocker. He is the type of player that can do everything and he will be getting even better as the season goes along, which is a scary thought for B1G quarterbacks.
• The pop pass that was ran successfully on the goal line twice for touchdowns adds another wrinkle to their short yardage offense. The defense bought the Miller fake, freezing their linebackers and that left Stoneburner wide open for a touchdown. With that play now on film, a linebacker will now have to stay with Stoneburner on the goal line, which will lead to easier Miller touchdown runs and vice versa.

Ohio State welcomes the University of Alabama Birmingham into the ‘Shoe this Saturday, which will serve as a warm up for Michigan State and the rest of the B1G schedule coming up. Hopefully the offense will execute and the defense will clean up some of their issues this week.

Roby sacks Maynard

Thanks to J. Winslow for the photos

jwinslow.com

Well, that game was much closer than expected. But, the Buckeyes improve to 3-0 after defeating Cal 35-28.

1. After a non-existent pass rush the first two games, the silver bullets sacked Zach Maynard 6 times and had constant pressure on him throughout the game.
2. Although the secondary has made a couple of big plays this season, they are still very sloppy with their tackling. The best example was Brendan Bigelow’s 59 yard touchdown run to tie the game at 28 where he broke two poor tackling attempts en route to the end zone.
3. The offense started strong, but fell asleep after halftime. They went 7 straight drives without scoring until the Buckeyes put together a nice drive to take back the lead with 8:31 to go.
4. This game got very chippy in the second quarter, Meyer talked about limiting dumb penalties at half time and there weren’t any in the second half.
5. Nice to see Jordan Hall return to action, he rushed the ball 17 times for 87 yards. He did not look as explosive as he was before the injury, but after a couple of games he will most likely return to form.
6. Nice wrinkle to the goal line package, where Miller fakes the draw or sweep and finds Jake Stoneburner wide open in the end zone. Don’t want to say it, but it was a little Tebow-esque if you remember his similar jump passes at Florida.

Full review to come later.

Hey there Buckeye faithful.  I’m back with another installment of winning performances.  For those who missed it last week, a “winning performance” is a measurable that I believe will lead to a Buckeyes win this week and toward future wins.

1.     Return of Hall, Williams

Jordan Hall is set to return to action this week and his return could not have come at a better time for the Buckeyes as they will be without Carlos Hyde.  How much of a load Hall can handle is yet to be determined, but his return should give the Buckeyes a change of pace to the other bigger backs on the roster.  Having your top playmaker back is never a bad thing.  With his workload in question, it is hard to put a number to a measurable winning performance, so I’m going to set a winning performance from Hall as 12 touches.

Also, expected to return to action this week is Nate Williams.  Williams played more in the opener than was expected and his resulting soreness delayed his return to action.  In his only game, Williams just missed on a sack against Miami, so a winning performance by Williams would be at least one sack and two TFLs this week.

2.     1st Down Conversion on Short Yardage

In the first two weeks, the Buckeyes offense has had difficulty converting short yardage situations into first downs.  Against Miami, Carlos Hyde was stuffed on a touchdown run from the one yard line and last week the Buckeyes missed on two other short yardage tries against UCF.  However, Urban said the gameplan adapted and, on the third short yardage try last week, the power off tackle to the right side was changed to an inside zone, which was successful.

The Buckeyes offensive line needs to improve as Cal and UAB are the only opponents left before the Buckeyes head up to East Lansing to face what some consider the best defensive line in the Big Ten.  Quite simply, when the Buckeyes need one yard, there cannot be any question in their ability to impose their will and pick it up.  While I am optimistic when I hope that a fourth and short situation does not present itself, I am looking for the Buckeyes to convert any and all of those opportunities that occur this week.  Winning football teams get the needed yard and it is demoralizing to the other team – that is what the Buckeyes need to become.

3.     100 Yards Receiving, 80 Yards Rushing by RB

Last week I set my winning performances for any player who finished the game with 100 yards receiving or any running back who ran for 100 yards.  And Braxton added another Buckeye leaf or two as he made UCF look “very foolish.”  Miller aside, none of the Buckeyes came close to meeting either of my winning performance marks as Devin Smith led all receivers with 57 receiving yards and Philly Brown totaled 33 rushing yards, which was the most behind Braxton.  Following Philly, Dunn led the running backs with 29 yards.

Despite the lack of production aside from Braxton, there is reason to be optimistic that a Buckeyes receiver will gain 100 yards receiving this week as, through two games, including the likes of Nevada Wolf Pack and Southern Utah Thunderbirds, the Bears passing defense has allowed a 72.73% passing completion average, 522 total passing yards, and four total passing TDs.  So again, a winning performance is any player who is able to gain 100 yards receiving.

This week, the running game is likely to feature a multifaceted attack with carries spread between Hall, Dunn, Smith, Boren, Miller, and Philly, so gaining 100 yards by any one running back may be difficult.  With my expectation that the number of opportunities will be numbered, any Buckeyes running back to gain over 80 yards on the ground will be a winning performance.

4.     Mistake free

Last week’s offense included a number of miscues by Buckeyes offensive lineman, wide receivers, and running backs, leaving Braxton with no other option than to pick up the slack and take off for whatever yards he could gain.  Although the plays were not nearly as bad as they could have been because of Braxton’s athleticism, the offense looked sloppy and the mistakes will yield worse results against better competition.

Adding to the broken plays, the Buckeyes had 10 penalties for 79 yards, two fumbles, and one interception at home in a stadium that was so quiet that when the Buckeyes offense was on the field, Braxton’s clapping for the snap count could be easily heard.  The environment won’t get friendlier and the mistakes need to be eliminated.

It goes without saying, but given the Buckeyes performance it must be said, that the goal is to not have any turnovers in the game, but I’m also hoping that the Buckeyes offense will look more polished eliminating penalties (although I think 3 penalties is more reasonable).

5.     Roby v. Allen

One of the biggest on the field matchups to watch this Saturday is shutdown corner Bradley Roby v. Cal receiver Keenan Allen.  Allen ranked 10^th in FBS last year in receiving yards per game and Roby will have his hands full as Cal will undoubtedly test Ohio State’s 96^th ranked pass defense which is currently allowing 281 yard per game.  A winning performance by Roby will be to hold Allen under 50 yards receiving.   For the Buckeyes secondary, a winning performance will be to hold Cal under 200 yards passing.

6.     Pressure and Disruption

For all of the hype for our defensive line coming into the season, it is among the least productive.  Currently we are 77^th in sacks with three through two games and 119^th out of 120 in tackles for loss with a measly five.

Plain and simple … if the sacks and tackles for loss are not doubled by the end of the game, then it is not a winning performance by the Buckeyes.

7.     Atonement for the Big Ten against the Pac 12

Last week was a rough one for the Big Ten, including losses by Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Illinois to Pac 12 squads.  As it often falls on the Buckeyes shoulders, we have an opportunity to save face for the league.  A loss would be catastrophic.

What would grade out as a winning performance for you?

Urban Meyer’s no-huddle, spread offense works best with a rhythm and tempo that keeps the opposing defense off-balance and does not allow them to line-up quickly or substitute. For example, when Braxton Miller runs the ball and gets tackled, he quickly gives the ball to a referee to spot the ball quickly so they can get back on the line and run another play.

The best example to counter the spread as a defense occurred on November 13, 2010 in Berkeley, California. The number one team in the country at the time, Oregon, whose offensive philosophy is similar to that of Urban Meyer’s, was completely shut down that night. The Golden Bears held Oregon to 15 points, their lowest total in the regular season by over three touchdowns.

Cal took the Ducks out of their fast-paced offense by getting up slowly after making tackles and faking injuries to use injury timeouts. Looking back on that game, Cal did make plays (limiting LaMichael James to 91 yards on 29 carries) but Oregon was very lucky to get out of Berkeley with a win to later advance to the BCS National Championship.

After, head coach Jeff Tedford vehemently denied that his players faked injury throughout the game even though it was clear on the broadcast that they did. But, defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi was suspended for their final game of the season due to telling his players to fake injuries during that game to slow down the Ducks high octane offense.

Now, with Cal coming into the ‘Shoe on Saturday  with a 1-1 record, followed by a game with in state rival USC the week after, do not be surprised to see their defense use similar tactics to slow down Braxton Miller and the Buckeyes no- huddle offense. As we have seen in the past two games, when the offense has little to no tempo, it goes nowhere. But, when the no-huddle gets rolling, it is very difficult to stop.

On offense, look for senior quarterback Zach Maynard to take a lot of time off the play clock and control time of possession. Maynard does have issues with the coaching staff though, as he was suspended for the first quarter of the Nevada game and got into it with his offensive coordinator against Southern Utah after missing his wide open fullback in the flat for what would have been a touchdown.

Although Maynard completes 64% of his passes, he is not very accurate when passing to running backs out of the backfield and makes easy throws seem very difficult for some reason.  Maynard looks for freshman wide receiver Chris Harper in the slot on bubble screens on first and second down and he is good after the catch. They use the screen game instead of running the ball and are about 60/40 pass to run.

Keenan Allen is the man that needs to be accounted for on offense for the Golden Bears. He is one of the best receivers in the country and he is the best receiver that Ohio State will play all season. Allen is big and can run any route; he is also a great punt returner. Maynard looks for him on 3^rd and long situations when a big play is needed.

The Buckeyes need a big game out of Bradley Roby and Travis Howard to slow down the Golden Bears receivers. There has been communications issues in the secondary through the first two games but have not had to pay for it; Allen and Harper will take advantage of that if the Buckeyes do not clean up the communication issues in the secondary.

With Jordan Hall on his way back, but not at %100 percent, it will be important to run a balanced offense to take some pressure off of Miller. If the offense can keep up the tempo and run the no huddle to perfection without any Cal defensive players faking injuries and slowing down their pace, the Bucks will make them pay.

Look for Ohio State to make a statement on Saturday, as this is their last real test before they visit East Lansing in two weeks. Some players on Cal have maturity issues and if the Buckeyes can start strong, Cal will fold.

Make them get up. If Urban feels it’s necessary, he will run the score up.